“Things were looking pretty shabby in the town square back then,” said Chris Speck, five-year president of Downtown Johnstown.

“We raised the money to make improvements and now we will always call it the Cupola Classic to remind us of our initial success,” he said.

This year, the Cupola Classic Cruise-In will be driving into town Sept. 13. Admission is free.

It is still an annual fundraiser for the group Downtown Johnstown and raises money to be used to improve the village.

Speck said the village recently acquired 10 acres near the TJ Evans bike path trailhead and the group has been tasked when brainstorming ideas for the property.

“With all that land, the sky’s the limit in terms of what we could do,” Speck said.

“We’ve looked into possibly making it a community park,” he said.

Downtown Johnstown’s Cupola Classic Cruise-In is at the corner of state Route 37 and U.S. Route 62 and will feature hot rods, antique cars, antique trucks and classic cars.

Speck said it’s the biggest event for Downtown Johnstown and usually raises close to $5,000.

He expects there to be a crowd of more than 1,000 people and more than 200 cars on display.

“You don’t have to be a car person to enjoy this event,” he said.

“You get to see a lot of neat cars since anyone is welcome to enter their car in the show,” he said.

Speck said car owners from throughout Licking County come to this show and some even choose not to participate in other car shows, just so they could schedule time to come to the Johnstown Cupola Classic.

“I’m excited to be around the people,” Speck said.

“It’s a great way to touch base,” he said. “Not everyone there is from the same walk of life. You have people of all ages there.

Admission to the event costs $10 and lasts from 3:30 to 8:30 p.m.

There will be plaques given to the first 100 cars, trophies given to the top 40 and other various prizes and drawings.

Live disc jockey entertainment will be provided by HyperSounds Entertainment and five to six food vendors will be present as well, event organizers said.